Serious question. Do you think Beane has a list of prospects that he is targeting to trade Colon for?

I think Beane signs guys such as Colon with the thought of spinning him off at the trade deadline. Colon signs there knowing this and that if he's traded, it's likely to someone in contention. So, it's a win-win for them, as long as Colon pitches well.

I think all teams keep a spreadhseet of prospects they'd like to get from other teams and, much like a draft board, each team's preferred lists are different.

I think Beane signs guys such as Colon with the thought of spinning him off at the trade deadline. Colon signs there knowing this and that if he's traded, it's likely to someone in contention. So, it's a win-win for them, as long as Colon pitches well.

I think all teams keep a spreadhseet of prospects they'd like to get from other teams and, much like a draft board, each team's preferred lists are different.

Beane seems to do this more than anybody else, and I can't understand why other GM's don't do it more. Obviously there's risk, but money-wise it likely balances out...sign a veteran and trade him for signed prospects vs. draft kids and pay big bonuses. You look at teams with obvious holes, that aren't likely to contend...sign some vets and hopefully restock your farm system in July. Seems like something a club like Houston ought to do, since they just gutted their roster last year and are probably at least 3 years away from contention anyway.

Not to mention, if you sign some guys you at least make it appear to your fanbase that you're trying...

The Giants are talking to franchise pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain about multiyear deals, but while there are early indications they'll have a decent or better chance to lock up Cain into his free-agent years, the team seems to be focusing on deals of two years or one with Lincecum after he rebuffed an offer of at least $100 million for five years.

Giants people are saying only that talks are "ongoing'' with Cain, but there is said to be a fair amount of optimism they can keep Cain on a longterm deal for under $20 million a year. Cain already took one long team-friendly deal, but Lincecum, who has so far gone year to year, seems more likely to wind up with a two-year deal now rather than sign a contract into his free-agent years.

I've heard that the Sox are still talking with Edwin Jackson. Given the creative lay-out of Scutaro's contract, is it possible for the Sox to do something similar with Jackson? Could they craft a deal that is ultimately a 4/$37 million but organize it such that the CBT hit for the first 3 years is low enough for them to afford, then they pay for that flexibility later by having to pay more for the final year (when they would presumably have some contracts coming off the books)? Plus it's a raise for him. He made $4.6m in 2010 and $8.75m in 2011. So a 4 year deal with a $9.25 AAV should appeal to him, especially considering that it’s nearly February and he doesn’t have a team…

Here's what I'm thinking. Sox announce they have agreed to a deal with Edwin Jackson for 3/$30 million, with a 4th year option at $9m. No details are released but at some point down the road some super-sleuth like Alex Speier figures out that the deal is actually 3 years $27 million, with a $1m signing bonus and a $2m buyout of the $9m team option for 2016 OR a $4m player option for 2016 (Just like what Scutaro had at the end of his deal.) The 4th year is practically assured to be picked up, because if they decline it and pay the $4m buy out they actually take a CBT hit of $6m)

Now this contract creates some payroll flexibility because instead of being calculated as $30m for $3 years ($10m AAV) or $37m over 4 years, with the AAV for CBT purposes being $9.25 they are actually calculating it as a 4 year deal worth $32m, because the $3m player option counts as guaranteed even though there is little chance of it being exercised. This results in a 2012 AAV figure of $8m for CBT purposes. Of course, when it actually comes down to it we are going to end up getting hit on the luxury tax that last year of the deal- $8m, $8m, $8m, $13m because we have pay the full $37m within the 4 years so the difference between what is paid (in luxury tax terms) in the first 3 years ($24m) and what is owed overall ($37m) must be paid in the last year ($13m). So the flexibility of having an extra $1m for CBT purposes for each of the first 3 years is paid for by having to pay $3m more than normal in the final year. Still, hopefully by then the Sox would have continued on with their merry thrifty ways and gotten out from some of the bad contracts they currently have.